Author: Craig Verley
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Are you ready for “that” phone call?
As we barrel towards the end of another school year, my mind always tends to wander into the areas of emergency responses. I guess this is due to two primary reasons: Hurricane season is right around the corner (June1), and there always seems to be an increase in situations of…
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Learning from Current Events
Recent events on college campuses across the country, including here in Texas, are grabbing lots of headlines. The protests, encampments, and takeovers; followed by official responses and law enforcement actions can allow us to challenge our readiness. I have found myself taking note of how the various universities have been…
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Think Evergreen
We have reached the time of the school year when you are probably hustling trying to cover all the end-of-year events, honors, and celebrations that only happen the last few weeks of the school year leading up to commencement ceremonies. During the rush to get things covered and move on,…
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Know your worth. Show your worth.
If your school district is not in the throes of finalizing budgets for a new fiscal year that begins July 1, then you will be there shortly after that for a fall budget cycle. When it comes to school district budgets, the headlines I am seeing from across the state…
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Election Communications
In case you could not tell by the headlines, this is a big election year in the country, and in our little state of Texas. I typically try to stay out of the whole topic of politics, but this blog post may stray a little over that line, but hopefully…
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Texas Public Information Act: A Love/Hate Relationship
The Texas Public Information Act is a unique beast for the school communications world. It plays an important role in making sure the public has access to what their government and school districts are up to, and how tax money is being spent. It also puts the school communications professional…
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Be Open to Possibilities
I increasingly see visuals associated with school district marketing that are carefully crafted and controlled. In most cases, you can tell that the video or photographs were taken under planned and controlled settings with great lighting and staging. The resulting campaigns are often slick-looking and probably do a great job…
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Support Your Local Newspaper
As a former news guy, the recent round of news-related layoffs at many publications and newspapers has been somewhat depressing. While print publications have been closing shop for many years now, the news deserts it is creating in many areas of our state and country are bad for our democracy…
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You Learned a Lot at the TSPRA Conference. Now What?
I am guessing that several hundred members of the Texas School Public Relations Association (TSPRA) returned to work today (March 1) after attending the organization’s annual conference in Sugar Land, professionally renewed, mentally drained, and physically tired. There is so much networking, idea sharing, and learning that goes on during…
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Stop Intruding on Their Time
Work/life balance is one of the subjects for sessions at this week’s Texas School Public Relations Association (TSPRA) annual conference. So, I figured this might be a good time to cut loose on one aspect of this subject that I know goes well beyond just the school PR and communications…
Craig Verley 